Daniil Medvedev, Sebastian Korda and other ATP players recently shared their thoughts on who is the Greatest Athlete of All Time outside of tennis (GOAT).
During the 2023 Shanghai Masters, players were asked to address the “GOAT” debate outside of their own sports. While basketball legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were mentioned the most, some football players also made the list.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Hubert Hurkach selected six-time NBA champion Jordan. Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev went with former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Bryant.
Medvedev, a football enthusiast, chose football players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Just because I love football, I would say Cristiano and Messi together are the GOAT. Let’s do it. I need to say something,” Daniil Medvedev replied.
However, in a recent Instagram Live session, Medvedev chose Messi over the Portuguese and compared the former to Roger Federer.
“I respect both of them. But Leo can do things with the ball that Cristiano can’t. At this point, Messi is like Federer. You don’t understand how they do it,” he explain.
Meanwhile, Argentinian Diego Schwartzman was quick to select compatriot Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona as his greatest athletes. However, I found it challenging to choose just one of these two combinations.
“GOAT? Outside (tennis)? Messi and Maradona. Simple question! Argentinians, Messi and Maradona. Double M,” Schwartzman said.
Sebastian Korda, on the other hand, chose legendary American golfer Tiger Woods, who has a record 82 PGA Tour wins.
Daniil Medvedev crashes out of Shanghai Masters, Sebastian Korda eliminated in Superseries
Daniil Medvedev was eliminated in the third round of the 2023 Shanghai Masters, while Sebastian Korda made it to the semifinals, but was ultimately defeated by Hubert Hulkac.
Following an impressive runner-up finish at the China Open, Medvedev defeated Christian Garin in straight sets at the ATP Masters 1000 before losing to Serbia 7-6(8), 6-2. Bastian Korda. It was his second loss to an American this year, having previously lost in the third round of the Australian Open.
Korda advanced to the quarterfinals without losing a set. He then had a thrilling duel with compatriot Ben Shelton, 6-7(10), 6-2, 7-6(6). However, Hurkacs proved to be too strong for the United States, which won the semifinals 6-3, 6-4.
Hulkac will face fifth seed Andrei Rublev in the final on Sunday, October 15.